Shape-shifting Terminator robots presently remain a sci-fi fantasy, but scientists in Australia claim the deadly technology may one day be possible thanks to self-propelling liquid metals.
The mutating T-1000 killing machine was witnessed by moviegoers in the 1991 blockbuster classic Terminator 2. It saw actor Robert Patrick play a robot assassin made from the fictional metal “mimetic polyalloy,” which allowed the advanced Terminator to take on many forms and rapidly repair itself from otherwise fatal damage.
Mimetic polyalloy remains confined to the movie script. However, scientists at Melbourne’s RMIT University have announced a “critical step” towards extremely malleable electronics, opening the door for futuristic liquid kill bots.
By exposing droplets of gallium to a water tank and changing the water’s pH levels, scientists found that the highly conductive metal moved by itself and even changed shape.
